Last night friends, family and teammates gathered for a dinner in Cleveland to honor longtime Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, whose #11 jersey will be retired tonight at The Q. I was the head coach when Big Z signed with the Cavs in 1996. His mother, father and sister all flew in from Lithuania to help him get settled. I invited them over to my home and told them not to worry, that I would take care of their son. Hard to believe it’s been almost two decades since Zydrunas began his impressive NBA career.

Inspired by the 2014 Winter Olympics, I took to the ice at the Serpentini Arena in Lakewood, Ohio and got some partner skating pointers from the 1996 U.S. Figure Skating Championship silver medalist and 1998 Olympic team alternate Tonia Kwiatkowski. No falls for the Czar!

After my lesson, I schooled a young pupil in the intricacies of world class hockey.

Today NBA players will pay tribute to MLK Day with “Dream BIG” shooting shirts and purple sneakers. Here’s a great quote from the inspiring peacemaker Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.